The United States on Thursday told India that betting on Russia as a “dependable partner is not worth it” and also noted that Moscow would prioritize its ties with Beijing over New Delhi in case of a faceoff between the two Asian giants.
Reacting to a question on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Russia, US national security advisor Jake Sullivan stated during a press conference, “We have made it very clear to every country in the world including India that relying upon Russia as a long-term sustainable reliable partner is not a good bet.”
“Russia is drawing closer to China. In fact, they are becoming junior partners with China and in doing so, they will side with China over India on any given day. And…Prime Minister Modi certainly has deep concerns about possibility for Chinese aggression against India. That we’ve seen over the past few years,” Sullivan added who was recently in India for talks with his counterpart Ajit Doval and also met Prime Minister Modi.
The US official admitted that countries like India have had historical dealings with Russia which cannot undergo significant change within a short while. However, he emphasized that America is investing through democratic partners all around the globe including India and believes this approach will bear fruit in future.
The remarks from Sullivan followed the previous day when officials from Pentagon, White House and state department addressed questions concerning relationship between India and Russia and PM Modi’s visit to Moscow. Prime Minister Modi was in Russia for two days starting July 22nd for the 22nd annual summit between Indian-Russian presidents watched closely by the West amid Ukraine crisis. visit has been closely monitore by the West amid the ongoing Ukraine conflict.
During his meeting with Putin on Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi told the Russian President that use of force would fail to resolve the Ukrainian crisis adding peace moves cannot succeed where bombings and bullets are present.
India has consistently safeguarded its “special privileged strategic partnership” with Russia keeping up momentum even during ongoing Ukraine conflict.
